Miller and O’Neal Share Opening Night Victories at Eldora

Miller Escapes a Near Photo-Finish Between Podium

Story By: BRENDAN CAPERIA / WOO LATE MODEL SERIES MEDIA

Photos By: ELDORA SPEEDWAY / RACERSGUIDE PHOTO FILES

ROSSBURG, Ohio ­-  September 9, 2016 – Matt Miller and Don O’Neal shared the spotlight Thursday night in a pair of features that showcased the talented 108-car field that came to compete during the 46th Annual World 100 weekend at Eldora Speedway. Each feature was 25 laps, with a $10,000 payout.

In the first of the twin-features, 2016 Dirt Late Model Dream winner Dennis Erb Jr. lost the battle of restarts. With two yellow flags within the first few laps, the No. 3 Rick Delong Racing/ Dominator Race Products Rocket car of Miller managed to overtake the Carpentersville, Ill. native for the top spot. Riding the cushion for the remainder of the race, Miller was only challenged at the checkered flag.

Like Miller, Shannon Babb held his ground in second place. That is, until Erb regained ground and created a three-way dash to the checkers. The trio stretched the width of turn four, grouped side-by-side. Carrying more momentum than the rest, Miller won the opening feature of the weekend by a 0.114-second margin. Babb was runner-up, while Erb rounded-out the podium.

Miller has not won a show at the World 100 since winning Friday’s preliminary in 2014. The Whitehouse, Ohio driver is also a past-winner of Eldora’s Dirt Late Model Dream (2005).

“It was kind of a struggle,” said Miller, gesturing to where he hit lapped traffic. “You get behind all that traffic there and you start to push. I knew they were closing in there. You don’t want to slide job to those guys up in the cushion. You just have to make yourself wide.”

In the final feature of the night, O’Neal’s No. 5 Clint Bowyer Racing/ Peak Auto Motor Oil Club 29 racecar started on the outside in the front row which ultimately gave him that slight edge at the end. The Martinsville, Ind. driver rode the cushion for the majority of the race, and it proved to be too much to handle for Dekalb, Ill. driver Mike Mataragas. The 2011 Dirt Late Model Dream winner’s career goal is to win the World 100, and leading the majority of the race gives him the confidence he needs to fulfill it.

“Saturday night’s the night we want to be up here,” said O’Neal, recording his first win since January. “It’s a good start. We came back with the same car we ran in the Spring (The Dream). The guys worked hard, and hopefully we can win this damn race for a change.”

Jonathan Davenport, who has won both crown-jeweled events at Eldora, was making quick work of those ahead of him late in the race of the second feature. Davenport, who started 14th, weaved through the field ahead of him to lock-up the second place finish compliments of the top-cushion. Josh Richards, who also battled from mid-pack, finished third on the night.

DIRTcar UMP Late Models Statistical Report; Eldora Speedway; Rossburg, Ohio

Qualifying
1.72-Mike Norris, 15.306; 2.1-Josh Richards, 15.312; 3.71C-RJ Conley, 15.317; 4.17D-Zack Dohm, 15.399; 5.C9-Steve Casebolt, 15.437; 6.4B-Jackie Boggs, 15.496; 7.25C-Shane Clanton, 15.503; 8.5-Don O’Neal, 15.510; 9.1H-Jason Hiett, 15.543; 10.51-Joey Moriarty, 15.556; 11.32-Chris Simpson, 15.582; 12.15L-Darrell Lanigan, 15.591; 13.5N-Dustin Nobbe, 15.593; 14.99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr. , 15.634; 15.7W-Ricky Weiss, 15.640; 16.28M-Jimmy Mars, 15.652; 17.49-Brian Ruhlman, 15.673; 18.6-Jonathan Davenport, 15.676; 19.281-Kyle Pierce, 15.677; 20.4-Cody Mahoney, 15.685; 21.11A-Austin Smith, 15.686; 22.212-Josh Putnam, 15.687; 23.71H-Hudson O’neal, 15.688; 24.39-Tim McCreadie, 15.693; 25.25S-Chad Simpson, 15.697; 26.21JR-Billy Moyer Jr. , 15.726; 27.32P-Bobby Pierce, 15.729; 28.240-Doug Drown, 15.733; 29.28-Dennis Erb Jr. , 15.743; 30.44M-Chris Madden, 15.752; 31.21-Billy Moyer, 15.753; 32.99M-Devin Moran, 15.759; 33.88-Andrew Reaume, 15.763; 34.1P-Earl Pearson Jr., 15.770; 35.14M-Morgan Bagley, 15.775; 36.4BG-Bob Gardner, 15.787; 37.3-Matt Miller, 15.788; 38.39T-Rob Toland, 15.803; 39.2c-Joey Coulter, 15.806; 40.1m-Mike Mataragas, 15.817; 41.91-Tyler Erb, 15.819; 42.1V-Vic Hill, 15.823; 43.D8-Dustin Linville, 15.827; 44.6m-Wendell Wallace, 15.830; 45.0-Jake O’Neil, 15.832; 46.101-Casey Roberts, 15.833; 47.40B-Kyle Bronson, 15.838; 48.71-Delmas Conley, 15.848; 49.7R-Kent Robinson, 15.889; 50.17M-Dale McDowell, 15.892; 51.11-Josh Rice, 15.897; 52.8V-Craig Vosbergen, 15.901; 53.15H-Jon Henry, 15.908; 54.c8-Timothy Culp, 15.911; 55.50-Shanon Buckingham, 15.914; 56.93-Donald Bradsher, 15.923; 57.8-Rob Anderzack, 15.929; 58.9R-Curtis Roberts, 15.936; 59.18-Shannon Babb, 15.943; 60.55-Jeep VanWormer, 15.944; 61.4G-Kody Evans, 15.949; 62.18x-Michael Page, 15.956; 63.R1-Riley Hickman, 15.962; 64.20C-Duane Chamberlain, 15.963; 65.21H-Robby Hensley, 15.968; 66.91s-Rusty Schlenk, 15.994; 67.25-Jason Feger, 15.997; 68.1G-Devin Gilpin, 15.999; 69.31-Nick Latham, 16.041; 70.77-Gavin Landers, 16.044; 71.4x-Kevin Reeve, 16.046; 72.1GK-Ryan King, 16.049; 73.1N-Casey Noonan, 16.087; 74.F5-Garrett Alberson, 16.093; 75.33-Jesse James Lay, 16.102; 76.22-Chris Ferguson, 16.106; 77.11G-Gordy Gundaker, 16.113; 78.77B-Adam Bowman, 16.132; 79.77A-Dylan Ames, 16.136; 80.1JH-Jared Hawkins, 16.139; 81.12-Devin Friese, 16.145; 82.48L-Tim Lance, 16.150; 83.16-Jason Jameson, 16.157; 84.28C-Tyler Carpenter, 16.203; 85.10-Alex Ferree, 16.227; 86.TK0-Tom Krankel, 16.248; 87.14-Steve Francis, 16.279; 88.14z-Zachary McMillan, 16.312; 89.93J-Jay Johnson, 16.396; 90.95J-Jerry Bowersock, 16.398; 91.23w-Brad Wade, 16.422; 92.69-Jonny Huck, 16.499; 93.3K-Tanner Kellick, 16.550; 94.9G-Larry Greer, 16.551; 95.79-Shane Unger, 16.724; 96.17-Lamar Haygood, 16.732; 97.15J-Scott James, 16.739; 98.25Z-Mason Zeigler, 16.801; 99.3G-Brian Gray, 16.820; 100.6w-Mark Whitener, 16.821; 101.34-Chase Porter, 16.960; 102.P3-Jeff Robertson, 17.394; 103.5*-Bryant Dickinson, 17.507; 104.8JR-Samuel Tolley, 18.028; 105.2NH-Nick Hoffman, 99.991; 106.89-Mike Spatola, 99.992; 107.6s-Blake Spencer, 99.993; 108.31AUS-Paul Stubber, 99.994;

Heat 1 –  (10 Laps)
1. 32-Chris Simpson[3] ; 2. 91-Tyler Erb[5] ; 3. 21-Billy Moyer[1] ; 4. 11A-Austin Smith[2] ; 5. 72-Mike Norris[4] ; 6. 11-Josh Rice[6] ; 7. 4G-Kody Evans[7] ; 8. 4x-Kevin Reeve[8] ; 9. 12-Devin Friese[9] ; 10. 34-Chase Porter[11] ; 11. 23w-Brad Wade[10]

Heat 2 –  (10 Laps)
1. 1-Josh Richards[4] ; 2. 1V-Vic Hill[5] ; 3. 18x-Michael Page[7] ; 4. 212-Josh Putnam[2] ; 5. 48L-Tim Lance[9] ; 6. 1GK-Ryan King[8] ; 7. 8V-Craig Vosbergen[6] ; 8. 69-Jonny Huck[10] ; 9. P3-Jeff Robertson[11] ; 10. 99M-Devin Moran[1] ; 11. 15L-Darrell Lanigan[3]

Heat 3 –  (10 Laps)
1. 71C-RJ Conley[4] ; 2. 71H-Hudson O’neal[2] ; 3. D8-Dustin Linville[5] ; 4. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[3] ; 5. 88-Andrew Reaume[1] ; 6. 1N-Casey Noonan[8] ; 7. 15H-Jon Henry[6] ; 8. 3K-Tanner Kellick[10] ; 9. R1-Riley Hickman[7] ; 10. 5*-Bryant Dickinson[11] ; 11. 16-Jason Jameson[9]

Heat 4 –  (10 Laps)
1. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr.[1] ; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr. [3] ; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[2] ; 4. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[7] ; 5. 17D-Zack Dohm[4] ; 6. 28C-Tyler Carpenter[9] ; 7. 6m-Wendell Wallace[5] ; 8. F5-Garrett Alberson[8] ; 9. 8JR-Samuel Tolley[11] ; 10. 9G-Larry Greer[10] ; 11. c8-Timothy Culp[6]

Heat 5 –  (10 Laps)
1. 7W-Ricky Weiss[3] ; 2. 50-Shanon Buckingham[6] ; 3. C9-Steve Casebolt[4] ; 4. 14M-Morgan Bagley[1] ; 5. 2NH-Nick Hoffman[11] ; 6. 0-Jake O’Neil[5] ; 7. 33-Jesse James Lay[8] ; 8. 10-Alex Ferree[9] ; 9. 21H-Robby Hensley[7] ; 10. 79-Shane Unger[10] ; 11. 25S-Chad Simpson[2]

Heat 6 –  (10 Laps)
1. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr. [2] ; 2. 28M-Jimmy Mars[3] ; 3. 101-Casey Roberts[5] ; 4. 22-Chris Ferguson[8] ; 5. 4BG-Bob Gardner[1] ; 6. 4B-Jackie Boggs[4] ; 7. 89-Mike Spatola[11] ; 8. 91s-Rusty Schlenk[7] ; 9. 17-Lamar Haygood[10] ; 10. 93-Donald Bradsher[6] ; 11. TK0-Tom Krankel[9]

Heat 7 –  (10 Laps)
1. 25C-Shane Clanton[4] ; 2. 3-Matt Miller[1] ; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5] ; 4. 49-Brian Ruhlman[3] ; 5. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[8] ; 6. 25-Jason Feger[7] ; 7. 14-Steve Francis[9] ; 8. 15J-Scott James[10] ; 9. 8-Rob Anderzack[6] ; 10. 6s-Blake Spencer[11] ; 11. 32P-Bobby Pierce[2]

Heat 8 –  (10 Laps)
1. 240-Doug Drown[2] ; 2. 5-Don O’Neal[4] ; 3. 6-Jonathan Davenport[3] ; 4. 39T-Rob Toland[1] ; 5. 9R-Curtis Roberts[6] ; 6. 1G-Devin Gilpin[7] ; 7. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[10] ; 8. 71-Delmas Conley[5] ; 9. 77B-Adam Bowman[8] ; 10. 14z-Zachary McMillan[9] ; 11. 31AUS-Paul Stubber[11]

Heat 9 –  (10 Laps)
1. 18-Shannon Babb[6] ; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [2] ; 3. 1H-Jason Hiett[4] ; 4. 2c-Joey Coulter[1] ; 5. 7R-Kent Robinson[5] ; 6. 77A-Dylan Ames[8] ; 7. 31-Nick Latham[7] ; 8. 281-Kyle Pierce[3] ; 9. 93J-Jay Johnson[9] ; 10. 3G-Brian Gray[10]

Heat 10 –  (10 Laps)
1. 44M-Chris Madden[2] ; 2. 1m-Mike Mataragas[1] ; 3. 51-Joey Moriarty[4] ; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[5] ; 5. 55-Jeep VanWormer[6] ; 6. 4-Cody Mahoney[3] ; 7. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[9] ; 8. 77-Gavin Landers[7] ; 9. 6w-Mark Whitener[10] ; 10. 1JH-Jared Hawkins[8]

Even B-Feature 1 –  (12 Laps)
1. 48L-Tim Lance[1] ; 2. 4BG-Bob Gardner[2] ; 3. 1G-Devin Gilpin[5] ; 4. 8V-Craig Vosbergen[6] ; 5. F5-Garrett Alberson[9] ; 6. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[8] ; 7. 89-Mike Spatola[7] ; 8. 14z-Zachary McMillan[15] ; 9. 71-Delmas Conley[10] ; 10. TK0-Tom Krankel[17] ; 11. P3-Jeff Robertson[11] ; 12. 6w-Mark Whitener[13] ; 13. 28C-Tyler Carpenter[4] ; 14. 55-Jeep VanWormer[3] ; 15. 17-Lamar Haygood[12] ; 16. 9G-Larry Greer[14] ; 17. 15L-Darrell Lanigan[16]

Even B-Feature 2 –  (12 Laps)
1. 17D-Zack Dohm[1] ; 2. 4-Cody Mahoney[5] ; 3. 6m-Wendell Wallace[6] ; 4. 9R-Curtis Roberts[2] ; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[7] ; 6. 77B-Adam Bowman[12] ; 7. 93-Donald Bradsher[14] ; 8. c8-Timothy Culp[16] ; 9. 77-Gavin Landers[10] ; 10. 69-Jonny Huck[8] ; 11. 1GK-Ryan King[3] ; 12. 91s-Rusty Schlenk[9] ; 13. 8JR-Samuel Tolley[11] ; 14. 99M-Devin Moran[13] ; 15. 1JH-Jared Hawkins[15] ; 16. 31AUS-Paul Stubber[17]

Odd B-Feature 1 –  (12 Laps)
1. 72-Mike Norris[1] ; 2. 2NH-Nick Hoffman[2] ; 3. 7R-Kent Robinson[3] ; 4. 1N-Casey Noonan[4] ; 5. 25-Jason Feger[5] ; 6. 4G-Kody Evans[6] ; 7. 15J-Scott James[10] ; 8. 31-Nick Latham[8] ; 9. 21H-Robby Hensley[12] ; 10. 33-Jesse James Lay[7] ; 11. 3K-Tanner Kellick[9] ; 12. 12-Devin Friese[11] ; 13. 93J-Jay Johnson[13] ; 14. 23w-Brad Wade[16] ; 15. 6s-Blake Spencer[15] ; 16. 5*-Bryant Dickinson[14] ; 17. 25S-Chad Simpson[17]

Odd B-Feature 2 –  (12 Laps)
1. 11-Josh Rice[3] ; 2. 88-Andrew Reaume[1] ; 3. 15H-Jon Henry[6] ; 4. 0-Jake O’Neil[4] ; 5. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[2] ; 6. 10-Alex Ferree[9] ; 7. 14-Steve Francis[7] ; 8. 16-Jason Jameson[16] ; 9. 77A-Dylan Ames[5] ; 10. 4x-Kevin Reeve[8] ; 11. 8-Rob Anderzack[12] ; 12. R1-Riley Hickman[11] ; 13. 281-Kyle Pierce[10] ; 14. 79-Shane Unger[14] ; 15. 3G-Brian Gray[15] ; 16. 34-Chase Porter[13] ; 17. 32P-Bobby Pierce[17]

Twin 25 Feature 1 (Even) – (25 Laps)
1. 5-Don O’Neal[2] ; 2. 6-Jonathan Davenport[14] ; 3. 1-Josh Richards[10] ; 4. 44M-Chris Madden[6] ; 5. 1m-Mike Mataragas[1] ; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr. [4] ; 7. 1P-Earl Pearson Jr.[9] ; 8. 28M-Jimmy Mars[3] ; 9. 39-Tim McCreadie[12] ; 10. 101-Casey Roberts[13] ; 11. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr. [8] ; 12. 240-Doug Drown[7] ; 13. 22-Chris Ferguson[18] ; 14. 17M-Dale McDowell[20] ; 15. 1V-Vic Hill[5] ; 16. 17D-Zack Dohm[22] ; 17. 4-Cody Mahoney[24] ; 18. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[17] ; 19. 48L-Tim Lance[21] ; 20. 51-Joey Moriarty[15] ; 21. 39T-Rob Toland[19] ; 22. 212-Josh Putnam[16] ; 23. 18x-Michael Page[11] ; 24. 4BG-Bob Gardner[23]

Twin 25 Feature 2 (Odd) –  (25 Laps)
1. 3-Matt Miller[2] ; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[6] ; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [1] ; 4. 21-Billy Moyer[11] ; 5. 25C-Shane Clanton[7] ; 6. 32-Chris Simpson[10] ; 7. 7W-Ricky Weiss[8] ; 8. D8-Dustin Linville[12] ; 9. 91-Tyler Erb[5] ; 10. 50-Shanon Buckingham[3] ; 11. 71H-Hudson O’neal[4] ; 12. C9-Steve Casebolt[13] ; 13. 5N-Dustin Nobbe[17] ; 14. 40B-Kyle Bronson[14] ; 15. 14M-Morgan Bagley[18] ; 16. 88-Andrew Reaume[24]

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